Some aspects of this invention provide a non-human animal model of autism. Some aspects of this invention provide a non-human animal model for diseases or disorders associated with an overexpression or a copy number variance of a Ube3a gene. Transgenic mammals and transgenic mammalian cells comprising an exogenous copy or exogenous copies of a ube3a protein-encoding nucleic acid sequence are also provided. Some aspects of this invention further provide methods for using the animal models, cells, and transgenic animals for identifying agents or interventions that can alleviate a pathogenic characteristic observed in the animal model, cell, or transgenic animal.
